The answer
The trainers' answer is that telling off a pushy dog is normal, and different in kind from an attack. Briefing adopters about Hattie, a rescue who rebuffs large, pushy dogs, Kelton uses a human example: if a stranger walks up and starts acting weird, 'you might be like hey like dude like yeah back up but that's a normal response and very different from' punching him in the face. One is more concerning than the other.
Kelton tells the same story from the other side with his own dog, Zuri: she kept jumping on Echo, one of Christian's dogs, who escalated slowly - 'get off me get off me' - and after five or six times told her off hard enough to bite her face. 'Dogs do that all the time', he says; people just aren't realistic about what a dog is.
For Hattie the job was not to train the preference out. Kelton tested her with many dogs and children, narrowed down 'what she likes and doesn't like' - taller dogs that mount her will get bitten at; people and kids are fine - called it relatively normal, and explained it to adopters so they could choose a home where it rarely matters. On a walk another handler puts it to a passer-by: some people like to chat with strangers and some don't, 'so just because the dog doesn't fit your stereotype doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with them'.
Stated: the distinction and the approach. Not on film: a checklist for telling the two apart in the moment; the trainers rely on proportion and escalation.
What to do
If your dog objects to a dog that keeps pushing, notice whether she warned first and whether she stopped once the other dog backed off - that is an objection, not an attack (watch 03:30; watch 41:18). Learn exactly which dogs and situations bother her, and arrange life around that rather than forcing her to like every dog (watch 23:14).
What the trainers say
those are very different responses in terms of dog behavior it's the
like dude like yeah back up but that's a normal response and very different from you being like
right right um so like that's the the difference between those two behaviors okay yeah because like
jumping on her jumping on her and then echo had like slowly escalated was like get off me
get off me and then zutty like knocked it off dogs do that all the time um so it's like normal
doesn't care she's just a little dog selective but I did kind of narrow it
people are like that and some people aren't but so it's the same thing with dogs so just because
How it looks, dog by dog
Hattie
A rescue whose one issue is rebuffing large, pushy dogs. Kelton tests her until her preferences are known, calls it relatively normal, and briefs adopters on the difference between a warning and an attack, so the placement - not more training - is the answer.
On film
and not extremely it's it's like maybe it's actually relatively normal it's
oh right but is different than like yeah and then like and like means business
Zuri-chan
Kelton's own dog, on the pushy side: she would not leave Echo, one of Christian's dogs, alone; Echo escalated slowly and after several warnings bit her face, and Zuri stopped. Kelton tells it as ordinary dog behaviour. (Kelton confirmed Echo bit Zuri.)
On film
one of christian's dogs um echo who's a connie corso and um it was because zutty wouldn't leave
Why it works
Stated: an escalating warning to a dog that won't stop is a normal response, proportionate and different from an unprovoked attack (watch 03:22; watch 41:22). Stated: dogs, like people, differ in how social they are, and that is not a defect (watch 11:14). Inferred: the signs the trainers weigh are escalation (warnings first) and proportion (stopping when the other dog backs off).
Common owner mistakes
- Expecting a dog to tolerate everything from other dogs, and calling any objection aggression.
On film
behavior it's just people aren't very realistic about like what a dog is to be honest and like
Watch at 41:40 ↗
Questions owners ask
My dog growled and snapped at a dog who kept jumping on her. Is she aggressive?
On film the trainers call that a normal response - 'back up' - and distinguish it from an attack. What worries them is the response that skips the warnings.
On film
like dude like yeah back up but that's a normal response and very different from you being like
Can training make my dog like all dogs?
For Hattie the trainers did not try; they mapped her preferences and matched her to a home.
On film
doesn't care she's just a little dog selective but I did kind of narrow it
The lesson
The goal
Distinguish an escalating warning from an attack, and respond to a dog's preferences with management and placement rather than suppression.
Learn first
Watch out for
- Punishing a proportionate warning
- Forcing a selective dog into play with pushy dogs
Check yourself
What two things did Echo do before she bit Zuri, and why does Kelton call it normal?